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Heir of the White Lotus (Web Novel) - Chapter 2068 First Layer of Defenses
Chapter 2068 First Layer of Defenses
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In the heart of the castle, Jacob directed his servants, the ghouls, to finalize the preparations for the sacrificial ritual.Within the vast chamber, moonlight dripped through the open ceiling, bathing the cold stone floor in a pale, eerie glow.
One hundred and seven stone slabs were arranged in a perfect circle. Upon each of them lay an unconscious maiden. Every one of them was either a Mana Core Magus or a Cavalier Paladin.
The chamber was deathly silent, save for the slow, shuffling movements of the ghouls as they carried out their master's orders. Their figures moved between the stone slabs, making the entire scene seem like some twisted ceremony performed in a forgotten temple of an evil god.
Above them, the crimson moon stared down through the chamber. He said nothing. His cold, crimson eyes swept across the ritual site, watching his servants complete the preparations with calmness.
Everything was almost ready. Jacob's lips curled into a faint, expectant smile. Genevieve was in her private chambers, changing into a beautiful bridal gown.
It was the same dress that Charlotte had once worn in the past. And now, Genevieve slipped into the same dress. Jacob found it beautiful and poetic.
He heard the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind. For a brief moment, he thought Genevieve had been prepared for the ritual and that he would lay eyes on her dazzling form. But soon, that hope was replaced by a slight frown, which he quickly concealed.
"Old Aneesa," he muttered without looking back. "Is something the matter?"
The hunched-back, elderly gypsy arrived beside Jacob. She first offered him a humble bow. Then she said in a low, solemn voice:
"Your Grace, someone has managed to slip through the barrier I set beneath the battlefield."
Jacob's brows furrowed. He finally turned to Aneesa and watched her frail figure. She looked like a withered branch. A gust of wind could seemingly snuff her life away.
"How is that possible?" he said. "You claimed that no one could escape the formation."
"…I seem to have underestimated this person," Aneesa murmured, her aged voice full of remorse. "I… I did not expect this."
Jacob's nose wrinkled ever so slightly. To have such a complication occur so close to the sacrificial ritual… unacceptable!
"Deal with it," he spat coldly. "No one can disturb us today. No one."
"Yes, of course, Your Grace." Aneesa bowed even lower. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Shall I employ the castle's first layer of defenses?"
Jacob grunted. "Do whatever it takes. Kill this fool who dares to approach my castle."
Aneesa humbly answered, "By your will."
She turned and slowly walked away.
As she moved through the shadowy halls of the castle, a peculiar expression flickered in her murky eyes.
Forget escaping the barrier, she mused.
How did this man see through it in the first place?
Aneesa wondered for a long moment. No one could have betrayed her and given away that information because no one knew it other than herself and Jacob. The Vampire King would not divulge that intel for obvious reasons. So that left only one possibility…
A Runesmith has appeared.
Aneesa sighed, her hands slowly rising to form hand seals.
No matter…
A wave of invisible energy swept out from her, and she activated the defensive mechanisms.
***
Adam moved at his fastest speed, pushing his body to its absolute limit.
He used everything he had, every ounce of strength and mana, because he had to reach the castle before the eclipse.
Only one person occupied his mind.
Genevieve…
The landscape blurred around him. Trees were uprooted as he tore past them. The ground cracked beneath his feet, loose earth and stones being thrown into the air by the sheer force of his movement.
To anyone watching from a distance, he would have appeared as nothing more than a fleeting blur tearing across the land.
Yet the castle still seemed frustratingly close. And impossibly far.
Even at his current speed, it was still at least a couple of hours away.
Adam gritted his teeth.
A couple of hours…
I can't afford that much time!
His mind kept returning to Genevieve.
I have to make it!
He pushed himself harder.
I have to reach her before the eclipse!
Suddenly, he sensed something stir in the distance. His eyes narrowed, but his feet did not slow down.
In the next heartbeat, the ground beneath him rumbled. It violently shook. Cracks spread across the earth.
And with a boom, over a hundred figures burst through the surface.
Armored undead clawed their way off the ground, their ancient armor covered in rust and dirt. Empty eye sockets glowed with sinister light as they raised their rusty weapons.
Adam did not stop. These monsters reminded him of the undead legions in the Lands of Always War.
Looks like the Vampire King is aware of my advance, he thought.
The group of monsters was the weakest of the Vampire King's forces. All of them Squires or weaker. Their only use was to stall. It might have posed a problem for an ordinary Magus, slowing them down.
Adam wasn't an ordinary Magus.
[Hand of Doom: Wind Style]
An enormous amount of mana gathered around his fist. The mana transformed into strong winds that swirled like a tornado around his arms.
Adam's form picked up speed.
Without stopping for even a second, he clashed with the group of monsters.
[Earthly Meteor]
His attack tore through the undead, carving a deep ravine into the earth as their bodies were swept aside.
But by the time the dust settled, he was already long gone.
Behind him, the obliterated monsters spun horizontally in the air as razor-sharp winds tore across them, cutting through armor and flesh in a violent whirlwind.
Adam should have been happy that he had overcome the sudden obstacle so quickly, so efficiently.
However, that was only the first obstacle.
By the time he reached the foot of the hill upon which Castle de Vile stood, more than five hours had already passed.
He looked up.
The crimson moon had already receded far across the horizon. It should have continued its descent west, allowing the sun to rise from the opposite end of the sky.
But then, something truly bizarre happened.
The moon stopped.
And began to move backward!
It slipped across the sky toward the east at an unnatural speed, as though someone had reached into the heavens and rewound time itself upon the celestial body.
Adam stared in disbelief.
The crimson moon raced across the darkened sky, rapidly approaching the position where the sun was about to rise.
Then it began to cover it. Adam's face paled, and terror seized him.
The crimson moon swallowed the sun.
The final hour had arrived.
